Greaseable u-joint?
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Logistics Pro
Joined: Jul 2002
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From: South Dakota
Greaseable u-joint?
This spring I had the U-joints go out on my rig, so in the effort of saving money, and hoping to extend their life, I bought some greaseable u-joints from Napa for a grand total of $20.
I took the old ones out, put the new ones in, greased them before I installed the drive shaft. Big mistake, cause I would have then realized that I put them on backwards, and not this afternoon in my driveway after a hour of cussing and modifing my grease gun nipple to fit (still cant get it on the front u-joint).
Right now the only way I can grease mine is to drop the drive shaft from the rear.
DOH!
My question is, has anyone put greaseables on and what kind, do you have any trouble greasing them, and what direction are they facing (mine currently have the zerk on the driveshaft side front and back)?
Hotshot
Joined: Aug 2002
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From: BC, Canada
On most driveshafts the grease fitting should face the center of the shaft, not towards the yoke. Some are the other way around though. it's not always easy to tell which way to put them until after it's too late.
One thing that usually works if the U-joint is aiming the wrong way is to grease it with a CV grease needle. Any parts store should have that. You just stick the needle into the ball in the grease fitting and it should work.
One thing that usually works if the U-joint is aiming the wrong way is to grease it with a CV grease needle. Any parts store should have that. You just stick the needle into the ball in the grease fitting and it should work.
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From: South Dakota
I thought that I had them on right, as this was not my first rodeo....I suppose with the increasing use of greased for life U-joints, accessability is no longer taken into account in the design phase.
Will the needle have enough pressure to purge the old grease out of the u-joint?
Thanks for the tip!
Will the needle have enough pressure to purge the old grease out of the u-joint?
Thanks for the tip!
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Logistics Pro
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From: South Dakota
Well I gave the needle a try, couldnt get it to keep the grease from blowing back out the grease zerk.
So I ended up dropping the drive shaft from the rear, greased the joints, and buttoned it all back up.
Unfortunenately for me I am still haveing this cyclic squeek that is consistent with a bad or dry u-joint, that was the reason for me wanting to grease the joints.
Also bad for me, I couldnt get all four bearings on each joint to blow out the old grease, I could only get 3, which leads me to think that I will have to pull the u-joints out.
One would think that even the cheapo Napa joints would last a heck of a lot longer than 10,000 mi, even if they were only greased at istallation.
I guess tommorrow will tell for sure.
Needless to say I'm very ticked about this issue.
So I ended up dropping the drive shaft from the rear, greased the joints, and buttoned it all back up.
Unfortunenately for me I am still haveing this cyclic squeek that is consistent with a bad or dry u-joint, that was the reason for me wanting to grease the joints.
Also bad for me, I couldnt get all four bearings on each joint to blow out the old grease, I could only get 3, which leads me to think that I will have to pull the u-joints out.
One would think that even the cheapo Napa joints would last a heck of a lot longer than 10,000 mi, even if they were only greased at istallation.
I guess tommorrow will tell for sure.
Needless to say I'm very ticked about this issue.
Hotshot
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 12,679
Likes: 15
From: BC, Canada
Could it be a pinion or transmission output seal that's squeeking?
Most cheap U-joints and ball joints that are greaseable need to be greased regularly or they wont last. That's why I think that factory style sealed joints are better for people that dont grease their vehicles regularly.
Most cheap U-joints and ball joints that are greaseable need to be greased regularly or they wont last. That's why I think that factory style sealed joints are better for people that dont grease their vehicles regularly.
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Joined: Jul 2002
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From: South Dakota
Originally Posted by Racerguy
Could it be a pinion or transmission output seal that's squeeking?
Most cheap U-joints and ball joints that are greaseable need to be greased regularly or they wont last. That's why I think that factory style sealed joints are better for people that dont grease their vehicles regularly.
Most cheap U-joints and ball joints that are greaseable need to be greased regularly or they wont last. That's why I think that factory style sealed joints are better for people that dont grease their vehicles regularly.
While I have the drive shaft off this afternoon, I plan on putting in that sleeve.
I agree with you on the u-joints, in my case it was more of a matter of not being able to get the gun to fit rather than not greasing them at all. If I can't find any better greaseable u-joints, I will just suck it up and put in some non-greaseable units.
Before I get too anxious to yank out the joints, I plan on pulling the brakes on the rear to see if I have a shot/dragging pad.
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Joined: Jul 2004
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From: Springdale Arkansas
Two things, The drive shaft goes around about 3 times (depending on your rear end) for each time the wheels go around. It should be easy to distinguish between a squeak related to the drive shaft vs one in the wheels. The drive shaft squeak is significantly faster.
Also, what is a speedy sleeve ?
kw
Also, what is a speedy sleeve ?
kw
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From: South Dakota
Originally Posted by kenwhelan
Two things, The drive shaft goes around about 3 times (depending on your rear end) for each time the wheels go around. It should be easy to distinguish between a squeak related to the drive shaft vs one in the wheels. The drive shaft squeak is significantly faster.
Also, what is a speedy sleeve ?
kw
Also, what is a speedy sleeve ?
kw
I'll know for sure in a couple of hours.
A speedy sleeve is a thin collar that is used to rebuild the sealing area on a shaft that has been grooved really bad by the seal. You simply slide it over the worn area, and you have a new sealing area.
Last edited by superrangerman2002; Aug 18, 2004 at 09:30 AM.
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Logistics Pro
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From: South Dakota
Well after much cussing and a trip to the driveline shop, I now have 2 new greased-for-life- joints, and a newly painted drive shaft, even though my it didnt solve my problem. No biggie, only cost me $60, and now I dont have to worry about greasing them.
Since that didnt solve the problem, I pulled all the brakes and checked all fluids, including transfer case and differetial, every thing was normal. Since the truck has about ~97k mi on it, I drained the transfer case and refilled with Mobil 1 ATF. This seems to have solved the problem, as far as I can tell for now, but I am still un-sure. I just came back from a 1 day 680 mi round trip towing a trailer and didnt have even a single squeak the whole day.
It may be that I will have to let the problem go long enough to really get a good grip on where it's comming from. I just hope I don't end up stranded somewhere.
FYI, the u-joints at the dealer were in the $30/joint range, I bought the same thing at the driveline shop for $13/joint.
Thanks for all the help!
Since that didnt solve the problem, I pulled all the brakes and checked all fluids, including transfer case and differetial, every thing was normal. Since the truck has about ~97k mi on it, I drained the transfer case and refilled with Mobil 1 ATF. This seems to have solved the problem, as far as I can tell for now, but I am still un-sure. I just came back from a 1 day 680 mi round trip towing a trailer and didnt have even a single squeak the whole day.
It may be that I will have to let the problem go long enough to really get a good grip on where it's comming from. I just hope I don't end up stranded somewhere.
FYI, the u-joints at the dealer were in the $30/joint range, I bought the same thing at the driveline shop for $13/joint.
Thanks for all the help!
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